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The Order of Steel
An order of knights based in Springholm that has a long-standing tradition of being the town's pseudo-police force and guardians. Theras was part of the Order before joing the party on their quest to the threshold. Despite their role in Springholm, the entirety of the Order is actually quite expansive, containing enough troops to be considered an army, if assembled under a banner. The Tenets of the Steel There are three laws that the members of the Order must swear by, as follows. 1. No mercy for those who would prey upon others. They are the enemies of the Brotherhood, they are everything we stand against. 2. Respect the Brotherhood, respect the world around you, and the laws within. Our unison makes us stronger. 3. Live in servitude. Work for the benefit of others, be it a God or someone in need- there can be no higher distinction. Over time, these laws have changed in innumerable ways. The first law is the one most held in debate, beacuse of it's paradoxical nature, as well as how it can be twisted to validate persecution at a corrupt inquisitors' whim. The third law is also up for revision, as the incident with Omnis led to a large internal fissure in the Order, where the worshipers of the false god were brought into question by the Inquisitors. The situation was defused when St. Ethris Almain brought those faithful to the threshold. The Heirarchy of the Steel The steel works much like a government in itself, run by a triumvirate of the finest knights available to the order. Each of the three knights is in charge of a distinct portion of operations within the order. The first is the High Champion, the effective commander of the entirety of the Steel's forces. Currently, the High Champion is a woman named Alma Catena. She gained the title by defeating the previous High Champion in three seperate rounds of combat, using whatever weapon he chose for her, once winning completely unarmed. The second is the High Inquisitor, the force behind all investigations the Steel conducts to root out criminals, as well as having a hand in the workings of the Springholm government. The current High Inquisitor, Valen Venator, was once the right hand of the old High Inquisitor, but ascended to his position by uncovering some highly controversial evidence of corruption in the station. Finally, there is the Grand Valor. The Valor is the spiritual leader of the Order, and their job is simple, but incredibly important. They must go among the members of the Order, and of the populace they guard, and decide what changes must be made in policies and events to keep everything in harmony. A bad Valor could be disastrous for both the Order and the people it protects. The Valor is a position available to anyone, obtainable by beating the current Valor in both a duel and a game of chess, as well as having the approval of both the High Champion and the High Inquisitor. The current Valor, Marcus Draelm, has held his title for the last 26 years, going entirely undefeated in that time. The Divisions of the Steel The Steel is ordered into 7 different batallions and the Inquisitors, the former groups uner the control of the High Champion and the latter, the High Inquisitor. They are as follows. 1st Division- The Shield The 1st Division of the Steel is comprised of the most stalwart knights in the Order. Known as the Shield for the standard-issue titular armnament, they are the first into the fray when called upon, and are always the last to leave when all is said and done. Being the vanguard of the Steel, they are usually also the most heavily armored, with nary a knight being seen in anything less than full plate. 2nd Division- The Blade The 2nd Division of the Steel is the one most called upon by the Order. They are the task force of the Steel, completing assignments given to them by the High Champion and the head of their division that would be otherwise too dangerous or out of the jurisdiction of the 5th division. The Blade, despite their name, is actually made up of a variety of weapons users. In essence, the Blade is like a large guild of adventurers, and when called upon, the members that trust each other will form tight-knit groups and go out to answer the Order's call. 3rd Division- The Eyes The Eyes are named for their recruitment process, in which trainees are gauged on their accuracy at long distances. Primarily, the eyes are the ranged assault troops of the Steel, raining death from a distance with long and crossbows, but they have been known to be competent siege engineers as well, manning ballistae and trebuchet to devastating effect. 4th Division- The Hammer The Hammer is similar in constitution to the Hand, as most of it's recruits come from the Hand after several years of service. The Hammer, however, is much smaller, because all of the members it takes in are highly trained with at least one weapon, essentially being an elite group of footmen. The Hammer sees little action as a division because it's primary purpose is for war- most problems are either out of it's scope or too simple. The former issues go to the Blade, whereas the latter falls to the Hand, where, as it's leader might joke, "Dropping the Hammer is a bit overkill." 5th Division- The Hand The Hand is much less an division than the others- consisting mainly of volunteers, tradesmen and a couple of soldiers, the Hand's job is to 'reach out' to the community the Order is based in, providing crack teams of things necessary for a community such as guardsmen, firefighters, and builders. This is the largest division, simply because that it contains volunteers from the community. Those unable to find employment in local jobs with their trades will often come to the order for pay and occasionally a place to rest their head, and in exchange for this, all that is asked is that those given shelter under the Hand become a crack militia for the town should any dire situations arise. 6th Division- The Banner The Banner is the smallest divison of the Steel, and for good reason. This division consists of mainly entertainers and pennant bearers, as well as a small contingent of tradesmen. Regardless of the slight combat value a group of bards and acrobats may have, their main purpose is to serve as entertainers for the semi-annual and less frequent festivals the Steel hosts for the people of Springholm. They are the only division of the seven that answers directly to the Grand Valor as opposed to the High Champion. 7th Division- The Lance The division of the Steel that Theras hails from, the Lance is one of the smallest divisions of the Steel if only beacuse each knight within is issued a horse. The cavaliers of the Lance division are primarily concerned with the division's namesake, but it is not unknown for them to use a variety of weapons, including hammers, blades and axes. Occasionally referred to as the 'heavy weapons' division because their mounted status allows them to wield weapons of a larger size without issue.